This article is part of our Dream11 Fantasy NPB series.
ORIX Buffaloes (13-19-2) at Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (15-18-2)
Thursday, July 30th, 5:00 AM EDT
Projected Starters
Fighters: RHP Nick Martinez (1-3, 3.79 ERA)
Buffaloes: LHP Sachiya Yamasaki (1-0, 3.80 ERA)
Game Preview
Both the Fighters and the Buffaloes are struggling to get things going and both sit in the final two spots of the Pacific League standings. The Fighters, however, have been slightly better – they have two more wins and are on a two-game winning run. Meanwhile, the Buffaloes currently own one of the worst records in the NPB – a league-low 13 wins – while riding a three-game losing skid. The pitching matchup will feature two pitchers with almost identical ERAs – while Nick Martinez owns a 3.79 ERA for the Fighters, the Buffaloes will counter with Sachiya Yamasaki, who has posted a 3.80 ERA to date. Given how similar these two pitchers have looked, it's probably the offenses will decide the outcome of this game. In that department, the Fighters have a slim advantage.
Injuries
Andrew Albers - Out - Undisclosed
7/30 2:57 AM IST - The Buffaloes deactivated Albers on Wednesday, Jim Allen of JBallAllen.com reports. Though an explanation for Albers' removal from the roster isn't known, it's likely the result of an injury rather than any dissatisfaction the club may have had with his performance. The 34-year-old southpaw had fared respectably through his first six starts, going 2-3 with a 3.78 ERA and a 29:9 K:BB over 33.1 innings.
Motoki Higa - Out -
ORIX Buffaloes (13-19-2) at Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (15-18-2)
Thursday, July 30th, 5:00 AM EDT
Projected Starters
Fighters: RHP Nick Martinez (1-3, 3.79 ERA)
Buffaloes: LHP Sachiya Yamasaki (1-0, 3.80 ERA)
Game Preview
Both the Fighters and the Buffaloes are struggling to get things going and both sit in the final two spots of the Pacific League standings. The Fighters, however, have been slightly better – they have two more wins and are on a two-game winning run. Meanwhile, the Buffaloes currently own one of the worst records in the NPB – a league-low 13 wins – while riding a three-game losing skid. The pitching matchup will feature two pitchers with almost identical ERAs – while Nick Martinez owns a 3.79 ERA for the Fighters, the Buffaloes will counter with Sachiya Yamasaki, who has posted a 3.80 ERA to date. Given how similar these two pitchers have looked, it's probably the offenses will decide the outcome of this game. In that department, the Fighters have a slim advantage.
Injuries
Andrew Albers - Out - Undisclosed
7/30 2:57 AM IST - The Buffaloes deactivated Albers on Wednesday, Jim Allen of JBallAllen.com reports. Though an explanation for Albers' removal from the roster isn't known, it's likely the result of an injury rather than any dissatisfaction the club may have had with his performance. The 34-year-old southpaw had fared respectably through his first six starts, going 2-3 with a 3.78 ERA and a 29:9 K:BB over 33.1 innings.
Motoki Higa - Out - Biceps
7/9 4:26 AM IST - Higa was removed from the Buffaloes roster Wednesday due to an injury to his left biceps muscle, Full-Count.jp reports. Higa is a right-handed pitcher for Orix, so while his biceps issue appears fairly concerning, it's somewhat of a relief that the injury is to his non-throwing arm. The 37-year-old has been a trusted member of the Buffaloes bullpen so far during the young season, appearing in eight games and recording four holds while having yet to allow a run.
Shoki Katsumata - Out - Orbital
7/23 1:17 AM IST - Katsumata was diagnosed Wednesday with a orbital floor fracture of his right eye, Full-Count.jp reports. Katsumata sustained the injury after being hit in the eye during a defensive drill with the Buffaloes' minor-league affiliate. The 23-year-old appeared in three games with Orix earlier this season, going 0-for-4 at the dish in those contests.
Yuki Nomura - Out - Finger
7/9 4:21 AM IST - Nomura had successful surgery Wednesday to address the broken right pinkie finger he suffered in Tuesday's loss to the Buffaloes, Full-Count.jp reports. Nomura is expected to face a three-month recovery from the procedure, effectively taking him off the radar for the remainder of his rookie season. The 20-year-old had been a lineup regular at third base for the Fighters, going 10-for-46 (.217 average) with two home runs and eight RBI through his first 13 NPB games.
Eito Tanaka - Out - Elbow
7/10 6:41 AM IST - The Fighters announced Thursday that Tanaka underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow, Full-Count.jp reports. He's expected to be sidelined for two months before starting a throwing program. The 20-year-old made his NPB debut for Nippon-Ham in September of last season, giving up two runs in a two-inning appearance. Since he'll still need to complete more rehab work once he starts up his throwing program, Tanaka's absence could extend to the three-month mark or longer. The Fighters likely aren't counting on him to hold a major role once he's healthy again.
Hiroshi Urano - Out - Chest
6/30 8:47 PM IST - Urano required an appendectomy Tuesday and is expected to be sidelined for four weeks following surgery, Yahoo Japan reports. Urano will be hospitalized through Saturday before taking the next three weeks off to rest up and recover from the emergency procedure. The 30-year-old had yet to appear in a game for the Fighters this season after going 3-1 with seven holds and a 4.98 ERA over 25 appearances in 2019.
Taisuke Yamaoka - Out - Oblique
6/27 9:58 AM IST - Yamaoka (oblique) was diagnosed with muscle damage and will likely miss some time as a result of his injury from Friday's loss to the Marines, Baseball King reports. The right-hander exited Friday's start after just three pitches after experiencing left flank discomfort, and he underwent an MRI on Friday that revealed "muscle damage of the left internal oblique muscle." Yamaoka will be sidelined until at least July 7, but it's unclear whether he'll have to miss any additional time afterwards.
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters Expected Lineup
SP - Nick Martinez
2. Taishi Ohta
4. Sho Nakata
5. Po-Jung Wang
6. Ryo Watanabe
8. Yuki Nomura
9. Shingo Usami
Orix Buffaloes Expected Lineup
SP - Sachiya Yamasaki
4. Adam Jones
6. Koji Ohshiro
9. Shunta Gotoh
Top Picks
Sho Nakata, Fighters: Nakata's average of .238 might not turn many heads, but he is making loud contact every time he puts the barrel to the ball. The slugger has 12 home runs this season while also adding 36 RBI. He leads the team in both categories by a wide margin.
Kensuke Kondoh, Fighters: Kondoh only has one home run, but he has produced 19 RBI while hitting a robust .302 with a stellar .454 on-base percentage. He will a threat as long as he's able to get on base at a high clip, which is something he has achieved so far.
Aderlin Rodriguez, Buffaloes: Rodriguez is only hitting for .223, but the whole Buffaloes offense has struggled this season, so their players shouldn't be judged by that figure. He has been very productive considering the circumstances, though, as he accounts for five home runs and 19 RBI thus far.
Adam Jones, Buffaloes: Jones has been one of the most consistent threats in the Buffaloes lineup, which is quite surprising considering he is hitting for .242 with a .310 on-base percentage. He also has four home runs and 19 RBI in 142 plate appearances in 2020.
Captaincy Options
Dream11 Team
P – Nick Martinez
C – Shingo Usami
IF – Sho Nakata (C)
IF – Aderlin Rodriguez
IF – Christian Villanueva
IF – Kenshi Sugiya
OF – Kensuke Kondoh (VC)
OF – Adam Jones
OF – Masataka Yoshida
